US11175836B2 - Enhanced data clock operations in memory - Google Patents

Enhanced data clock operations in memory Download PDF

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Publication number
US11175836B2
US11175836B2 US16/803,977 US202016803977A US11175836B2 US 11175836 B2 US11175836 B2 US 11175836B2 US 202016803977 A US202016803977 A US 202016803977A US 11175836 B2 US11175836 B2 US 11175836B2
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Prior art keywords
data clock
memory
command
host
data
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US16/803,977
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US20200278802A1 (en
Inventor
Jungwon Suh
Dexter Tamio Chun
Michael Hawjing Lo
Shyamkumar Thoziyoor
Ravindra Kumar
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Qualcomm Inc
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Qualcomm Inc
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Priority to US16/803,977 priority Critical patent/US11175836B2/en
Application filed by Qualcomm Inc filed Critical Qualcomm Inc
Priority to EP23205327.2A priority patent/EP4290521A3/fr
Priority to ES20715575T priority patent/ES2967120T3/es
Priority to BR112021016211-9A priority patent/BR112021016211A2/pt
Priority to EP20715575.5A priority patent/EP3931830B1/fr
Priority to PCT/US2020/020374 priority patent/WO2020180677A1/fr
Priority to CN202080017983.3A priority patent/CN113519025A/zh
Priority to KR1020217026962A priority patent/KR20210131342A/ko
Priority to JP2021550236A priority patent/JP7508470B2/ja
Priority to TW109106698A priority patent/TWI856065B/zh
Assigned to QUALCOMM INCORPORATED reassignment QUALCOMM INCORPORATED ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST (SEE DOCUMENT FOR DETAILS). Assignors: KUMAR, RAVINDRA, THOZIYOOR, SHYAMKUMAR, CHUN, DEXTER TAMIO, LO, MICHAEL HAWJING, SUH, JUNGWON
Publication of US20200278802A1 publication Critical patent/US20200278802A1/en
Priority to US17/494,089 priority patent/US11662919B2/en
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Definitions

  • the present disclosure relates generally to methods and apparatuses having enhanced data clock operations and more particularly, to methods and apparatuses having a data clock suspend mode to reduce power consumption while a data clock is in an always-on mode.
  • a computing device may include one or several processors to perform various functions, such as telephony, wireless data access, and camera/video function, etc.
  • a memory is an important component of the computing device.
  • the one processor may be couple to the memory to perform the aforementioned computing functions. For example, the one processor may fetch instructions from the memory to perform the computing function and/or to store within the memory temporary data for processing these computing functions, etc.
  • the memory may be embedded with the one processor on a semiconductor die or be part of a different semiconductor die.
  • the memory may perform various functions.
  • the memory may be used as cache, register file, or storage.
  • the memory may be of various kinds.
  • the memory may be static random access memory (SRAM), dynamic random access memory (DRAM), magnetic random access memory (MRAM), NAND flash, or NOR flash, etc.
  • computing devices As demands grow for the computing device to perform more functions with increasing speed, power issue grows as well. While power savings may be of particular interest in mobile computing devices, non-mobile devices may also benefit from reduced power consumption to reduce waste heat generation. Thus, computing devices of various sorts may benefit from memory systems that have decreased power consumption. Schemes to reduce power consumer are thus desirable.
  • An apparatus in accordance with at least one embodiment includes a memory configured to receive a data clock from a host via a link and to synchronize the data clock with the host, further comprising; a clock tree buffer configured to toggle based on the data clock to capture write data or to output read data; and a command decoder configured to detect a data clock suspend command while the data clock is synchronized between the host and the memory.
  • the clock tree buffer is configured to disable toggling based on the data clock in response to the command decoder detecting the data clock suspend command.
  • Another apparatus in accordance with at least one embodiment includes a host coupled to a memory via a link.
  • the host is configured to synchronize a data clock with the memory and to output write data or capture read data based on the data clock.
  • the host includes a memory controller configured to provide a data clock suspend command to the memory via the link while the data clock is synchronized between the host and the memory.
  • the data clock suspend command notifies the memory to disable toggling a clock tree buffer, the clock tree buffer being configured to toggle based on the data clock.
  • the memory controller is further configured to toggle the data clock after providing the data clock suspend command.
  • a method to reduce power of a data clock for a memory coupled to a host via a link includes synchronizing a data clock between the host and the memory via a link; toggling, by a clock tree buffer of the memory, based on the data clock to capture write data or to output read data; providing, by the host to the memory via the link, a data clock suspend command, while the data clock is synchronized between the host and the memory; disabling toggling based on the data clock, by the clock tree buffer, in response to the data clock suspend command; and toggling, by the host, the data clock after providing the data clock suspend command.
  • Another method to reduce power of a data clock for a memory coupled to a host via a link includes providing, by a host to a memory via a link, a data clock synchronization command and providing, by the host to the memory via the link, a data clock suspend command, after synchronizing a data clock.
  • the data clock suspend command notifies the memory to disable a data clock buffer which toggles based on the data clock.
  • the method further includes toggling, by the host, the data clock after providing the data clock suspend command.
  • Another method to reduce power of a data clock for a memory coupled to a host via a link includes receiving a data clock, by the memory, from a host via a link; synchronizing, by the memory, the data clock with the host; toggling, by a clock tree buffer of the memory, based on the data clock to capture write data or to output read data; detecting, by the memory, a data clock suspend command while the data clock is synchronized between the memory and the host; and disabling toggling the clock tree buffer based on the data clock, in response to detecting the data clock suspend command.
  • FIG. 1 illustrates an apparatus incorporating at least one processor, a memory, and a link coupling the at least one processor and the memory, in accordance with certain aspects of the disclosure.
  • FIG. 2 illustrates a data clock synchronization (WCK2CK) command provided by the host to the memory via the link of FIG. 1 , in accordance with certain aspects of the disclosure.
  • WCK2CK data clock synchronization
  • FIG. 3 illustrates waveforms of data clock (WCK) synchronization with data suspend (WCK SUSPEND) mode, in accordance with certain aspects of the present disclosure.
  • FIG. 4 illustrates operations and communications of data clock (WCK) suspend mode between the host and the memory over the link of FIG. 1 , in accordance with certain aspects of the present disclosure.
  • WCK data clock
  • FIG. 5 illustrates portions of the memory controller, including the enhanced data clock module, of FIG. 1 operating the data clock synchronization (WCK2CK) suspend mode, in accordance with certain aspects of the present disclosure.
  • FIG. 6 illustrates portions of the memory I/O module 160 of FIG. 1 operating the data clock (WCK) suspend mode, in accordance with certain aspects of the present disclosure.
  • FIG. 7 illustrates a method reduce power of a data clock (WCK) for the memory coupled to the host via the link 190 of FIG. 1 , in accordance with certain aspects of the disclosure.
  • WCK data clock
  • FIG. 8 illustrates a method reduce power of a data clock (WCK) for the memory coupled to the host via the link of FIG. 1 , in accordance with certain aspects of the disclosure.
  • WCK data clock
  • the term “coupled to” in the various tenses of the verb “couple” may mean that element A is directly connected to element B or that other elements may be connected between elements A and B (i.e., that element A is indirectly connected with element B), to operate certain intended functions.
  • the term “coupled to” may also be used herein to mean that a wire, trace, or other electrically conductive material is used to electrically connect elements A and B (and any components electrically connected therebetween).
  • the term “coupled to” mean a transfer of electrical energy between elements A and B, to operate certain intended functions.
  • the term “electrically connected” mean having an electric current or configurable to having an electric current flowing between the elements A and B.
  • the elements A and B may be connected via resistors, transistors, or an inductor, in addition to a wire, trace, or other electrically conductive material and components.
  • the elements A and B may be “electrically connected” via a capacitor.
  • first,” “second,” “third,” etc. are employed for ease of reference and may not carry substantive meanings.
  • names for components/modules may be adopted for ease of reference and might not limit the components/modules.
  • non-limiting names may include “clock tree” buffer; “command” decoder; “memory mode” register; and/or “memory” controller.
  • Modules and components presented in the disclosure may be implemented in hardware, software, or a combination of hardware and software.
  • bus system may provide that elements coupled to the “bus system” may exchange information therebetween, directly or indirectly.
  • the “bus system” may encompass multiple physical connections as well as intervening stages such as buffers, latches, registers, etc.
  • a module may be implemented in hardware, software, or a combination of hardware and software.
  • a data clock between a host and a memory may be synchronized for the host to access (e.g., read or write) the memory. Once synchronized, the data clock may be in an always-on mode or may be free running to maintain the synchronization. As the memory may include clock trees driven by the data clock, the clock trees consume power when the data clock is running in the always-on mode, even when the host is not accessing the memory.
  • the data clock remains synchronized between the host and the memory.
  • power is reduced as the memory gates clock trees without adding cycles for resynchronization, as the data clock remains synchronized.
  • LPDDR Low-Power Double Data Rate
  • SDRAM Synchronous Dynamic Random Access Memory
  • JEDEC Joint Electronic Device Engineering Council
  • LPDDR5 LPDDR5
  • FIG. 1 illustrates an apparatus 100 incorporating a host 110 , a memory 150 , and a link 190 coupling the host 110 and the memory 150 , in accordance with certain aspects of the disclosure.
  • the apparatus 100 may be, for example, one of computing systems (e.g., servers, datacenters, desktop computers), mobile computing device (e.g., laptops, cell phones, vehicles, etc.), Internet of Things devices, virtual reality (VR) systems, or augmented reality (AR) systems, etc.
  • the host 110 may include at least one processor 120 coupled to the memory 150 via the link 190 to perform a computing function, such as one of data processing, data communication, graphic display, camera, AR or VR rendering, image processing, etc.
  • a computing function such as one of data processing, data communication, graphic display, camera, AR or VR rendering, image processing, etc.
  • the memory 150 may store instructions or data for the at least one processor 120 to perform the aforementioned computing functions.
  • the at least one processor 120 may be a collection of processing logics or one or more central processing unit.
  • the at least one processor 120 may be a central processing unit (CPU) 122 , a graphic processing unit (GPU) 123 , or a digital signal processor (DSP) 124 configured to implement the aforementioned computing functions.
  • CPU central processing unit
  • GPU graphic processing unit
  • DSP digital signal processor
  • FIG. 1 illustrates that host includes the at least one processor 120 coupled to a memory controller 130 via a bus system 115 , the at least one processor 120 being coupled to the memory 150 via the memory controller 130 and the link 190 .
  • the memory may be an LPDDR DRAM (e.g., LPDDR5).
  • the host 110 , the memory 150 , and/or the link 190 may operate according to an LPDDR (e.g., LPDDR5) specification.
  • the memory 150 may be configured to receive a data clock (e.g., WCK) from the host 110 via the link 190 and to synchronize the data clock WCK with the host 110 (e.g., to synchronize with a command and address clock from the host 110 ).
  • WCK data clock
  • the memory controller 130 may include an enhanced data clock module 132 and a host I/O module 134 .
  • the enhanced data clock module 132 may be configured to determine when enhanced data clock operations, such as a data clock suspend mode, is beneficial and to issue a data clock suspend command to enter the data clock suspend mode.
  • the host I/O module 134 may be configured to drive and to receive signals on the link 190 .
  • the host I/O module 134 may be known as a PHY layer and be configured to control electrical characteristics (e.g., voltage levels, phase, delays, frequencies, etc.) or to receive signals based on the electrical characteristics of signaling on the link 190 .
  • the host I/O module 134 may be configured to output write data to the memory 150 via the link 190 based on a data clock WCK.
  • the host I/O module 134 may be configured to output write data synchronized with the data clock WCK.
  • the host I/O module 134 may be configured to capture read data from the memory 150 via the link 190 based on a data clock WCK.
  • the host I/O module 134 may be configured such that a buffer to capture (e.g., to sample) read data is clocked or based on the data clock WCK.
  • the link 190 may be a chip-to-chip or a die-to-die link between the host 110 and the memory 150 , the host 110 and the memory 150 being on different dies.
  • the link 190 may be an in-die link, the host 110 and the memory 150 being on a same die.
  • the link 190 may include multiple signal lines, including signal lines to transmit unidirectional signals from the host 110 to the memory 150 (e.g., data clock (WCK), command and address (CA), CA clock (CLK) etc.) and bidirectional directional signals (data (DQ), data strobe (DQS), etc.).
  • the CA may include a CAS signaling/pin, a chip select (CS) signaling/pin, and column address (CA) signaling.
  • the link 190 and signaling between the host 110 and the memory 150 may be in accordance with the JEDEC DRAM specification (e.g., LPDDR5).
  • the memory 150 may use the data clock WCK to capture or to sample write data (e.g., received at the DQs) for write operation and to toggle read data (e.g., outputted at the DQs) for read operation.
  • the memory 150 may utilize the data clock WCK to capture write data or to output read data.
  • FIG. 1 illustrates the memory 150 having a memory I/O module 160 , a memory array 162 , a mode register 170 , and a command decoder 173 coupled via a bus system 172 .
  • the memory I/O module 160 may be configured to drive and to receive signals on the link 190 .
  • the memory I/O module 160 may be known as a PHY layer and be configured to control electrical characteristics (e.g., voltage levels, phase, delays, frequencies, etc.) or to receive signals based on the electrical characteristics of signaling on the link 190 .
  • electrical characteristics e.g., voltage levels, phase, delays, frequencies, etc.
  • memory I/O module 160 may be configured to capture (e.g., to sample) write data from the host 110 via the link 190 based on the data clock WCK.
  • memory I/O module 160 may be configured to clock buffer to capture write data clocked based on the data clock WCK. In some examples, the memory I/O module 160 may be configured to output read data to the host 110 via the link 190 based on a data clock WCK. For example, the host I/O module 134 may be configured to synchronize outputting read data with the data clock WCK.
  • the memory array 162 may include multiple memory cells (e.g., DRAM memory cells) that store data.
  • the at least one processor may read data stored in and/or write data into the memory array 162 , via the link 190 .
  • the memory array 162 may be arranged into multiple memory banks 180 - 1 to 180 -M.
  • the memory array 162 may be accessed (e.g., read or written) via a READ or a WRITE command.
  • the mode register 170 may include register or register that store values on operations, signaling characteristics, and/or information of the memory 150 .
  • the mode register 170 may be accessed (e.g., read or written) via a mode register read (MRR) or a mode register write (MRW) command, the MRR and MRW commands being different from the READ and WRITE commands (e.g., the MRR and MRW commands do not access the memory array 162 ( FIG. 1 )).
  • the memory controller 130 may issue an MRW command via the link 190 to set up the memory 150 for a read or write operation.
  • the memory 150 stores operands or OPs provided by the MRW command into the mode register 170 .
  • the MRR command and the MRW command do not access the memory array 162 .
  • operands written into or read from the mode register 170 are not written into or read from the memory array 162 .
  • the mode register 170 includes a WCK suspend register 171 .
  • the WCK suspend register 171 may be configured to store information of a data clock (WCK) suspend command.
  • WCK suspend register 171 may be configure may store a value indicating whether the memory 150 supports or enables enhanced data clock WCK operations, such as the data clock (WCK) suspend command.
  • the at least one processor 120 may issue a write request to the memory controller 130 via the bus system 115 .
  • the memory controller 130 may issue a WRITE command via CA and CLK of the link 190 to the memory 150 .
  • Write data are provided by the memory controller 130 via DQs of the link 190 , clocked by the data clock WCK.
  • the memory 150 stores the write data into the memory array 162 , addressed by the WRITE command.
  • the at least one processor 120 may issue a read request to the memory controller 130 via the bus system 115 .
  • the memory controller 130 may issue a READ command via CA (e.g., clock CLK, address, command) of the link 190 to the memory 150 .
  • CA e.g., clock CLK, address, command
  • the memory 150 outputs data stored in the memory array 162 , addressed by the READ command, to the at least one processor 120 .
  • the data may be outputted via DQs of the link 190 , clocked by the data clock WCK (and/or RDQS).
  • the memory 150 e.g., the memory I/O module 160
  • the data clock WCK may operate at a different frequency from the CA clock CLK.
  • the data clock WCK may operate at two or four times a frequency of CLK, according to LPDDR5.
  • the memory 150 may use a frequency divider to match the frequency of WCK clock trees with CLK. Such function may require synchronization of states of the CA clock CLK with the internal WCK clock trees.
  • the process may be known as WCK2CK Synchronization (e.g., in LPDDR5 specification) and may require several synchronization cycles.
  • the host 110 may start the WCK2CK Synchronization by issuing a WCK2CK SYNC command, via the link 190 .
  • the WCK2CK SYNC command may be a CAS command.
  • the read or write command may following immediately the CAS command of the WCK2CK SYNC command.
  • the host 110 and the memory 150 engage in synchronization cycles with the data clock WCK clocking (e.g., toggling).
  • the data clock WCK may be always on (e.g., free-running) to keep synchronization. As long as the data clock WCK clocks (e.g., toggles), the data clock WCK would remain synchronized between the host 110 and the memory 150 .
  • the WCK2CK Synchronization may be exited by the memory 150 receiving commands for power down, self-refresh power-down, deep-sleep commands, or reset. Such always-on mode of the data clock WCK would improve performance, as subsequent read and write commands would not require resynchronization. However, as the data clock WCK toggles, the memory 150 continues to draw current arising from toggling of internal WCK clock trees, even when the memory 150 is idle (e.g., not reading or writing).
  • the command decoder 173 may be configured to decode various commands provided by the host 110 (e.g., the memory controller 130 ) via the link 190 .
  • the command decoder 173 may be configured to decode a read command, a write command, and the various WCK2CK commands presented above.
  • FIG. 2 illustrates a data clock synchronization (WCK2CK SYNC) command provided by the host 110 to the memory 150 via the link 190 of FIG. 1 , in accordance with certain aspects of the disclosure.
  • FIG. 2 includes a diagram 210 of the WCK2CK SYNC command issued as a CAS command and a diagram 220 of modes of the (WCK2CK SYNC) CAS command.
  • the diagram 210 illustrates that the (WCK2CK SYNC) CAS command is operable on any bank configuration.
  • a CS pin is high, and operands of the WCK2CK SYNC command are provided at address CA0-CA6.
  • additional operands are inputted.
  • the operands may include DC0-DC3, WS_WR, WS_RD, WS_FS, WRX, WXS, B 3 as provided by the LPDDR5 specification.
  • WS_WR at logic one may indicate that a write command immediately follows the WCK2CK SYNC command.
  • the A WS_RD at logic one may indicate that a read command immediately follows the WCK2CK SYNC command.
  • WS_FS may indicate a fast synchronization.
  • WRX and WXS may indicate a Write X function (e.g., WRX and/or WXS may be operands for Write X function).
  • B 3 may indicate a read burst starting address.
  • the diagram 220 illustrates that the modes of the (WCK2CK SYNC) CAS command may include WCK2CK SYNC for WRITE (e.g., WS_WR is logic one), WCK2CK SYNC for READ (e.g., WS_RD is logic one), FAST WCK2CK SYNC (e.g., WS_FS is logic one), and WCK2CK SYNC OFF (a command to end WCK synchronization and to turn off internal WCK clock trees in the memory 150 ).
  • the (WCK2CK SYNC) CAS command is further enhanced with a data clock suspend (WCK SUSPEND mode.
  • the (WCK2CK SYNC) CAS command may enter the WCK SUSPEND mode with WS_WR at logic one, WS_RD at logic zero, and WS_FS at logic one.
  • a WCK2CK SYNC command with such WCK SUSPEND mode may be referred to as a data clock (WCK) suspend command.
  • the data clock (WCK) suspend command signals to the memory 150 to turn off at least one internal WCK clock tree to the memory 150 , even though the data clock WCK continues to clock (e.g., toggle). In such fashion, the at least one internal WCK clock tree stops toggling, and power consumption is saved while WCK synchronization is maintained. No new WCK synchronization is required to perform a read or write operation subsequent to the WCK SUSPEND mode.
  • the memory controller 130 may be configured to enable the enhanced data clock (WCK) operations with LPDDR5 WCK2CK SYNC broadcast feature.
  • WCK enhanced data clock
  • CAS-WCK_SUS is broadcasted to both ranks (Rank 0 and 1) together for better command and address (CA) bus efficiency.
  • the mode register 170 may include a field to indicate that the data suspend (WCK SUSPEND) mode is supported or enabled. See, for example, the WCK suspend register 171 in FIG. 1 .
  • the host 110 e.g., the memory controller 130
  • MRR mode register read
  • the clock data suspend (WCK SUSPEND) mode may be exited by a subsequent read or write command.
  • the memory 150 may restart the at least on internal WCK clock tree toggling. No performance is lost, as no additional clock cycles are needed to exit the clock data suspend (WCK SUSPEND) mode.
  • FIG. 3 illustrates waveforms of WCK synchronization with the WCK SUSPEND mode, in accordance with certain aspects of the present disclosure.
  • read operations are provided as examples. Write operations may be implemented in similar fashion.
  • the host 110 e.g., the memory controller 130
  • the host 110 issues a WCK2CK SYNC command to the memory 150 via the link 190 , with WS_RD at logic one.
  • T 1 the host 110 (e.g., the memory controller 130 ) issues a read command to the memory 150 via the link 190 .
  • the host 110 and the memory 150 enter data clock WCK synchronization (WCK2CK) cycles.
  • WCK2CK data clock WCK synchronization
  • the data clock WCK is synchronized between the host 110 and the memory 150 .
  • the host 110 continues to clock (e.g., to toggle) the data clock WCK to keep synchronization.
  • the host 110 e.g., the memory controller 130 ) may issue additional read or write commands to the memory 150 via the link 190 without further data clock WCK synchronization.
  • the host 110 e.g., the memory controller 130
  • issues a clock data suspend (WCK SUSPEND) command (specifying the WCK SUSPEND mode) to the memory 150 via the link 190 to enter the WCK SUSPEND mode.
  • WCK SUSPEND clock data suspend
  • the memory 150 may stop at least one internal WCK clock tree from toggling. In such fashion, power consumption within the memory 150 is reduced.
  • the host 110 issues a read command (or a write command).
  • the memory 150 starts the one or more internal WCK clock tree toggling, and the read/write operation commences normally. There are no changes to the read/write operation.
  • FIG. 4 illustrates operations and communications of data clock (WCK) suspend mode between the host 110 and the memory 150 over the link 190 of FIG. 1 , in accordance with certain aspects of the present disclosure.
  • the host 110 e.g., the memory controller 130
  • the mode register read command may be directed to read a WCD suspend register 171 of the mode register 170 .
  • the memory 150 provides to the host 110 via the link 190 information of a data clock (WCK) suspend command stored in, for example, the WCD suspend register 171 of the mode register 170 .
  • the information of the data clock (WCK) suspend command may indicate whether the memory 150 supports the data clock (WCK) suspend command.
  • the host 110 (e.g., the memory controller 130 ) provides a data clock synchronization (WCK2CK SYNC) command to the memory 150 via the link 190 . See T 0 , FIG. 3 .
  • the WCK2CK SYNC command may be WCK2CK SYNC for READ with operands WS_WR at logic zero, WS_RD at logic one, and WS_FS at logic zero.
  • the host 110 e.g., the memory controller 130
  • the memory 150 may be configured to receive the data clock WCK and be configured to capture (e.g., to sample) write data and/or to output (e.g., to synchronize with) read data.
  • the memory 150 may include one or more internal data clock trees incorporating one or more clock tree buffers.
  • the clock tree buffer is configured to toggle based on the data clock WCK (e.g., toggle with the data clock WCK) to capture write data or to output read data.
  • the one or more clock tree buffers are configured to drive internal data clock WCK within the memory 150 to perform, for example, capturing write data and/or outputting (e.g., synchronizing with) read data.
  • the host 110 and the memory 150 are synchronized (e.g., in WCK2CK synchronization). See, for example, synchronization cycles between T b0 and T b1 .
  • the memory controller 130 may be configured to perform the synchronization cycles in accordance with an LPDDR5 specification to synchronize the data clock WCK with the memory 150 (e.g., to synchronize with the CA clock CLK with intern data clock of the memory 150 ; e.g., both are at a same state).
  • the host 110 e.g., the memory controller 130
  • WCK data clock
  • the memory 150 may be configured to receive and decode the data clock (WCK) suspend command, subsequent to synchronizing the data clock (e.g., WCK) between the host 110 and the memory 150 and/or while the data clock (e.g., WCK) is synchronized between the host 110 and the memory 150 . See T d0 , FIG. 3 .
  • the host 110 e.g., the memory controller 130
  • the memory 150 may be configured to continue to toggle the data clock WCK after providing the data clock (WCK) suspend command.
  • the memory 150 may enter a data clock (WCK) suspend mode.
  • the memory 150 may be configured to disable the clock tree toggling based on the data clock WCK, to reduce power consumption.
  • the host 110 e.g., the memory controller 130
  • the host 110 provides a read (or write) command to the memory 150 via the link 190 , subsequent to providing the data clock (WCK) suspend command and without performing synchronization between the host 110 and the memory 150 .
  • the read command at T eo is provided by the host 110 subsequent to providing the data clock (WCK) suspend command at T do .
  • the host 110 and the memory 150 do not perform synchronization of the data clock WCK (no synchronization cycles) between providing the data clock (WCK) suspend command at T d0 (at 430 ) and providing the read or write command at T do (at 440 ).
  • the memory 150 performs a read (or write) operation.
  • the memory 150 may use clocks powered by the one or more clock tree buffer toggling based on the data clock WCK to output (e.g., synchronize with) read data and/or to capture write data.
  • FIG. 5 illustrates portions of the memory controller 130 , including the enhanced data clock module 132 , of FIG. 1 operating the data clock synchronization (WCK2CK) suspend mode, in accordance with certain aspects of the present disclosure.
  • FIG. 5 illustrates that the memory controller 130 includes a memory command module 506 , a memory access queue module 508 , and the enhanced data clock module 132 .
  • the enhanced data clock module 132 may include some or all of a WCK suspend support determination module 502 and a WCK suspend usage determination module 504 .
  • the modules are coupled by a bus system 510 , via which the modules communicate.
  • the bus system 410 is further coupled to the host I/O module 134 .
  • the memory command module 506 may be configured to provide various commands to the memory 150 via the link 190 (and via the host I/O module 134 ).
  • the memory command module 506 may be configured to provide a mode register read command (e.g., for information of the data clock suspend command; see FIG. 4 at 402 ), a data clock (WCK) synchronization command (see FIG. 4 at 410 ), a data clock (WCK) suspend command (e.g., based on the information of the data clock suspend command and/or while the data clock WCK is synchronized between the host 110 and the memory 150 ; see FIG.
  • a mode register read command e.g., for information of the data clock suspend command; see FIG. 4 at 402
  • a data clock (WCK) synchronization command see FIG. 4 at 410
  • a data clock (WCK) suspend command e.g., based on the information of the data clock suspend command and/or while the data clock WCK is synchronized between the host 110 and the memory 150
  • the memory access queue module 508 may be, for example, one or more storage elements and may be configured to store one or more memory access commands or instructions.
  • the WCK suspend support determination module 502 may be configured to determine whether the memory 150 supports enhanced data clock operations, such as the data clock (WCK) suspend mode. For example, at 402 of FIG. 4 , the WCK suspend support determination module 502 may receive information of the data clock (WCK) suspend module stored in the mode register 170 (e.g., WCK suspend register 171 ) of the memory 150 . The information of the data clock (WCK) suspend module may indicate whether the memory 150 supports the data clock suspend command.
  • WCK data clock
  • the WCK suspend usage determination module 504 may be configured to determine whether to use the data clock (WCK) suspend mode (e.g., whether to provide the data clock (WCK) suspend command), based on the information of the data clock suspend command. In a case that the information of the data clock suspend command indicates that the memory 150 supports the data clock (WCK) suspend mode, the WCK suspend usage determination module 504 may look into the memory access queue module 508 to determine whether power saving from the data clock (WCK) suspend mode is sufficient to justify entering the data clock (WCK) mode. The WCK suspend usage determination module 504 may make such determination based on types, numbers, timing (e.g., difference in timing) of commands or instructions stored in the memory access queue module 508 .
  • the host 110 e.g., the WCK suspend usage determination module 504
  • the memory command module 506 might provide the data clock (WCK) suspend command (e.g., operands of WS_WR and WS_FS at logic one and WS_RD at logic zero) to the memory 150 via the link 190 (and via the host I/O module 134 ).
  • a (next) read or write command may be provided at or later than the first time period after the data clock (WCK) suspend command.
  • the host 110 may be configured to provide the (next) read or write command after the first time period, after providing the data clock (WCK) suspend command.
  • the WCK suspend usage determination module 504 may be configured to determine that exiting data clock synchronization (WCK2CK) might save more power. In such case, the host 110 (e.g., the WCK suspend usage determination module 504 ) might opt to not cause the memory command module 506 to provide the data clock (WCK) suspend command. The host 110 (e.g., the WCK suspend usage determination module 504 ) might cause the memory command module 506 to provide an instruct to the memory 150 via the link 190 to exit the data clock synchronization (WCK2CK)(e.g., power down). In such fashion, host 110 may be configured to provide the (next) read or write command to the memory 150 via the link 190 between the first time period and the second time period after providing the data clock (WCK) suspend command.
  • WCK2CK exiting data clock synchronization
  • FIG. 6 illustrates portions of the memory I/O module 160 of FIG. 1 operating the data clock (WCK) suspend mode, in accordance with certain aspects of the present disclosure.
  • FIG. 6 illustrates that the memory I/O module 160 includes a WCK buffer 602 , a CA buffer 606 , and a DQ buffer 608 (the memory I/O module 160 may include multiple instances of these buffers).
  • FIG. 6 further illustrates that the memory I/O module 160 includes a clock tree 603 and the WCK suspend control module 605 .
  • the WCK buffer 602 may be an input buffer/receiver configured to receive the data clock WCK and be configured to output to the clock tree 603 .
  • the clock tree 603 may be configured to toggle with the received data clock WCK and outputs an internal WCK to the DQ buffer 608 .
  • the clock tree 603 includes one or more clock tree buffer 604 configured to toggle based the data clock WCK (e.g., toggle with the data clock WCK) to capture write data or to output read data.
  • the clock tree buffer 604 may be after (e.g., receiving an output directly or indirectly from) the WCK buffer 602 (i.e., after the memory I/O module 160 ).
  • the DQ buffer 608 may be an input/output buffer configured to receive write data from and output read data to the DQs of the link 190 .
  • the DQ buffer 608 may be configured to be clocked by the internal WCK (or clocked based upon the internal WCK).
  • the DQ buffer 608 may be configured to capture (e.g., to sample) write data based on the internal WCK (which is in turn based on the data clock WCK) and/or configured to output based on (e.g., to synchronize outputs with) the internal WCK (which is in turn based on the data clock WCK).
  • the CA buffer 606 may be an input buffer/receiver configured to receive command and address inputs from the link 190 and configured to output to the command decoder 173 .
  • the command decoder 173 may be configured to detect, for example, a mode register read command (e.g., for information of the data clock suspend command; see FIG. 4 at 402 ), a data clock synchronization (e.g., WCK2CK) command (see FIG. 4 at 410 ), a data clock (WCK) suspend command (e.g., based on the information of the data clock (WCK) suspend command and/or while the data clock WCK is synchronized between the host 110 and the memory 150 ; see FIG.
  • a mode register read command e.g., for information of the data clock suspend command; see FIG. 4 at 402
  • a data clock synchronization (e.g., WCK2CK) command see FIG. 4 at 410
  • a data clock (WCK) suspend command e.g., based
  • a read (or write) command to instruct the memory 150 to perform a read (or write) operation (e.g., subsequent to detecting the data clock (WCK) suspend command without performing synchronization of the data clock WCK between detecting the data clock (WCK) suspend command and detecting the read or write command; see FIG. 4 at 440 ).
  • the data clock (WCK) suspend command notifies the memory 150 to disable toggling the clock tree buffer 604 , the clock tree buffer 604 being configured to toggle based on the data clock WCK.
  • the WCK suspend control module 605 disable the clock tree buffer 604 from toggling.
  • the clock tree buffer 604 is therefore configured to disable toggling based on the data clock WCK in response to the command decoder 173 detecting the data clock (WCK) suspend command. In such fashion, clocking power consumed by the clock tree 603 is saved.
  • the read or write command subsequent to the data clock (WCK) suspend command notifies the memory 150 to start toggling the clock tree buffer 604 .
  • the WCK suspend control module 605 enables the clock tree buffer 604 to start toggling based on the data clock WCK.
  • the clock tree buffer 604 is configured to start toggling based on the data clock WCK in response to the command decoder 173 detecting the read or write command (subsequent to the data clock (WCK) suspend command).
  • the memory 150 is configured to perform a read (or write) operation (e.g., read from or write to the memory array 162 of FIG. 1 ) in response to the command decoder 173 detecting the read or write command. In such fashion, performance of the memory 150 is not impeded as no additional synchronization cycles are needed.
  • FIG. 7 illustrates a method reduce power of a data clock (WCK) for the memory 150 coupled to the host 110 via the link 190 of FIG. 1 , in accordance with certain aspects of the disclosure.
  • the operations of FIG. 7 may be implemented by, for example, the apparatus 100 (e.g., the memory 150 ) presented with FIGS. 1-6 .
  • the arrows indicate certain relationships among the operations, but not necessarily sequential relationships.
  • a data clock is received by the memory from a host via a link. See, for example, FIG. 1 and FIG. 6 , the WCK buffer receives the data clock WCK from the host 110 via the link 190 .
  • the data clock is synchronized by the memory with the host. See, for example, the synchronization cycles between T b0 and T b1 of FIGS. 3 and 420 at FIG. 4 .
  • a clock tree buffer of the memory is toggled based on the data clock to capture write data or to output read data. See, for example, the clock tree buffer 604 toggles based on the data clock WCK to capture write data or to output read data.
  • a data clock suspend command is detected by the memory while the data clock is synchronized between the memory and the host. See, for example, FIG. 4 at 430 .
  • the command decoder 173 detects the data clock (WCK) suspend command (e.g., a WCK2CK command with operands WS_WR and WS_FS at logic one and WS_RD at logic zero).
  • WCK data clock
  • toggling the clock tree buffer is disabled based on the data clock, in response to detecting the data clock suspend command.
  • toggling of the clock tree buffer 604 is disabled, by the WCK suspend control module 605 , in response to the command decoder 173 detecting the data clock (WCK) suspend mode.
  • a read or write command is detected by the memory subsequent to detecting the data clock suspend command. See, for example, FIG. 4 at 440 .
  • the command decoder 173 detects a read (or write) command subsequent to detecting the data clock WCK suspend command.
  • toggling based on the data clock by the clock tree buffer, is started in response to detecting the read or write command.
  • the clock tree buffer 604 starts toggling based on the data clock WCK (enabled by the WCK suspend control module 605 ), in response to the command decoder 173 detecting the read or write command.
  • a read or write operation is performed by the memory, in response to the read or write command, without performing synchronization of the data clock between detecting the data clock suspend command and detecting the read or write command. See FIG. 4 at 440 .
  • the memory 150 performs a read or write operation in accordance with the read or write command without performing synchronization of the data clock WCK between detecting the data clock (WCK) suspend command and detecting the read or write command. No such synchronization is needed because the host 110 and the memory 150 remain in a WCK2CK mode (data clock synchronization mode).
  • information of the data clock suspend command is stored by a memory mode register. Referring to FIG. 1 , the mode register 170 includes the WCK suspend register 171 , which stores information on whether the memory 150 supports enhanced data clock WCK operations, such as the data clock (WCK) suspend command.
  • FIG. 8 illustrates a method reduce power of a data clock (WCK) for the memory 150 coupled to the host 110 via the link 190 of FIG. 1 , in accordance with certain aspects of the disclosure.
  • the operations of FIG. 7 may be implemented by, for example, the apparatus 100 (e.g., the host 110 ) presented with FIGS. 1-6 .
  • the arrows indicate certain relationships among the operations, but not necessarily sequential relationships. Operations of FIG. 7 and FIG. 8 may be combined as presented in the present disclosure.
  • a data clock synchronization command is provided by a host to a memory via a link. See, for example, FIG. 4 at 410 .
  • the memory command module 506 provides the data clock synchronization command (e.g., WCK2CK for READ or WCK2CK for WRITE; see FIG. 2 ) to the memory 150 via the link 190 .
  • a data clock suspend command is provided by the host to the memory via the link after synchronizing a data clock. The data clock suspend command notifies the memory to disable a data clock buffer which toggles based on the data clock. See, for example, FIG. 4 at 430 . Referring to FIG.
  • the memory command module 506 provides the data clock (WCK) suspend command to the memory 150 via the link 190 , after synchronizing the data clock with the memory 150 (e.g., FIG. 4 at 420 ).
  • the command decoder 173 detects the data clock (WCK) suspend command and causes the WCK suspend control module 605 to disable the clock tree buffer 604 from toggling, which toggles based on the data clock WCK.
  • the data clock is toggled by the host after providing the data clock suspend command.
  • the host 110 continues to toggle the data clock WCK after providing the data clock suspend command at T d0 . Accordingly, the host 110 and the memory 150 remain in the data clock synchronization mode (WCK2CK mode), and synchronization cycles are needed for a subsequent read or write operation.
  • a read or write command is provide by the host to the memory via the link after the data clock suspend command, without performing synchronization of the data clock between providing the data clock suspend command and providing the read or write command. See, for example, FIG. 4 at 440 .
  • the data clock suspend command is provided in response to the information of the data clock suspend command. See, for example FIG. 4 at 430 .
  • Combinations such as “at least one of A, B, or C,” “one or more of A, B, or C,” “at least one of A, B, and C,” “one or more of A, B, and C,” and “A, B, C, or any combination thereof” include any combination of A, B, and/or C, and may include multiples of A, multiples of B, or multiples of C.
  • combinations such as “at least one of A, B, or C,” “one or more of A, B, or C,” “at least one of A, B, and C,” “one or more of A, B, and C,” and “A, B, C, or any combination thereof” may be A only, B only, C only, A and B, A and C, B and C, or A and B and C, where any such combinations may contain one or more member or members of A, B, or C.

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JP2021550236A JP7508470B2 (ja) 2019-03-01 2020-02-28 メモリにおける拡張データクロック動作
BR112021016211-9A BR112021016211A2 (pt) 2019-03-01 2020-02-28 Operações de relógio de dados melhoradas na memória
EP20715575.5A EP3931830B1 (fr) 2019-03-01 2020-02-28 Opérations d'horloge de données en mémoire
PCT/US2020/020374 WO2020180677A1 (fr) 2019-03-01 2020-02-28 Opérations d'horloge de données en mémoire
CN202080017983.3A CN113519025A (zh) 2019-03-01 2020-02-28 存储器中的增强数据时钟操作
EP23205327.2A EP4290521A3 (fr) 2019-03-01 2020-02-28 Opérations d'horloge de données en mémoire
ES20715575T ES2967120T3 (es) 2019-03-01 2020-02-28 Operaciones de reloj de datos potenciadas en la memoria
KR1020217026962A KR20210131342A (ko) 2019-03-01 2020-02-28 메모리에서의 향상된 데이터 클럭 동작들
TW109106698A TWI856065B (zh) 2019-03-01 2020-03-02 記憶體中的增強型資料時鐘操作
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KR20210131342A (ko) 2021-11-02
ES2967120T3 (es) 2024-04-26
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BR112021016211A2 (pt) 2021-10-05
EP4290521A3 (fr) 2024-03-13
JP2022522012A (ja) 2022-04-13
TW202101193A (zh) 2021-01-01
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US20220027067A1 (en) 2022-01-27
EP3931830A1 (fr) 2022-01-05

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